


Don't Be Afraid

by skepticseptic



Series: Lee's Demon Shane AU [2]
Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Demon!Shane, Grotesque transformation, Happy Ending, M/M, Scared Ryan
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-10-09
Packaged: 2019-01-06 07:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,429
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12207003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skepticseptic/pseuds/skepticseptic
Summary: There's a certain kind of pain that comes with your best friend,your crush, being scared of youAnd it's worse than you ever could have imagined





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> FAIR WARNING: There's a scene in this fic with a description of transformation that might not be the best for the faint of heart. If you don't want to read this particular part DO NOT READ THE SECOND PARAGRAPH. It isn't particularly necessary for the story as a whole, so you aren't missing any plot points.
> 
> This was inspired by a line in Andrew McMahon's "Cecelia and the Satellite", but the song doesn't really fit the mood of the fic tbqh
> 
> Other than that, please enjoy!

                The sound of bones cracking and shifting filled the quiet forest. Shane gasped in pain, doubled over on the dirt. No matter how many times he did this, it still hurt as if he was dying. He kinda wishes he was so he could escape the insurmountable pain radiating through his entire body. His true appearance could only be hidden for so long before he had to let it out again, and the longer he waited the more it would hurt in the end. Even so, he had always pushed the limit, not wanting any of his friends to know the truth of his existence.

                The skin on his hands began to change – claws ripped through where fingers had been, black runes spreading up from his wrists onto his arms and shoulders, slowly making their way up his neck and down his back. His claws now dug into the dirt, leaving gashes in the soil as the change continued. His normal teeth began to fall out, forcing him to spit them out onto the ground in a pool of dark blood or choke on them. Soon, the spaces were replaced with sizeable fangs, sharp as knives and glinting in the moonlight. Blood still leaked from his mouth, sore from the replacement process. Next came a splitting pain in his brain, pressure building behind his eyes and just above his ears on either side. His eyes rolled back into his head as he felt the horns force their way through his skin, slowly, painfully growing to their full length. The pressure behind his eyes increased even more, his vision becoming briefly dark as his irises and pupils morphed into a snake-like form and an orange tint spread across his formerly hazel eyes.

                His vision slowly returned as he panted heavily, his forehead pressed against the ground of the forest and his claws dug into the dirt. He winced as the final bones shifted around, giving his spine an armor-plated appearance. He hated this, this part of him. It wasn’t like he had had a choice in the matter, some occultist idiot had kidnapped him and made a mistake in his ritual. Instead of summoning a demon and using him as a sacrifice, he _became_ the demon.

                He still remembers the look of fear that crawled across the poor human’s face as he transformed the first time, full of murderous rage and unperturbed by the safety precautions the human had taken. He had wanted _blood_.

                And he had gotten it.

                That was the one and only human he had killed since he became this monster.

                It had taken a while to discover that he could mask his appearance, numerous years of hiding in forests and mountains where nobody ever dared to venture experimenting and pushing the amount of time he could hold the mirage until he had mastered it. He was able to stay human for a decent length of time now, and the pain turning back was unimaginable, but now he had a reason for it.

                An adorable tiny human named Ryan.

                He had encountered him on one of his first trips into a city after he mastered his mirage. They had run into each other – literally. Shane had been too busy looking up, admiring the buildings in this new place, and Ryan had been too busy looking down, reading something on his phone as he walked. They had collided and fell to the concrete, startled at the sudden interruption in their activities. Shane had quickly gotten up and ran off, worried that his mirage wouldn’t last after such an impact.

                They met again a few months later. At this point, Shane had mostly integrated himself back into society, save for the few days each month that he had to disappear back into the forest nearby. He had gotten a job at a company called Buzzfeed and started renting an apartment at the edge of the city. As he soon found out, Ryan also worked at Buzzfeed and was looking for someone to join him in a series called “Buzzfeed Unsolved” that looked at unsolved cases that involved the supernatural. Finding irony in the situation, Shane had agreed to join him in his quest to prove that ghosts and other supernatural entities were real.

                And that leads him here, to where he is now, shaking in residual pain on the forest floor in the middle of nowhere. They were exploring a location nearby, but the proximity to the forest, _his forest_ , made keeping the mirage difficult. He had been so busy with the job and his life that he was pushing his time incredibly thin. As soon as they had wrapped up filming, he had quickly excused himself and basically ran into the midst of the trees, missing the look of concern on Ryan’s face as he went.

                The pain had started almost immediately, forcing him to collapse in the nearest and most hidden clearing that he could possibly find. Through that blinding pain, he had not heard Ryan follow him into the trees.

                A quiet gasp sounded behind him, and he froze where he sat on the ground. Slowly, he turned his head to find the source of the noise, fearing the worst had finally happened. And it had. His eyes soon picked out a figure at the edge of the clearing with its back against a tree, a suspiciously Ryan sized figure. Shane quickly scrambled up from where he had been sitting on the ground, raising himself to his full height, significantly taller than his usual human appearance, but he felt smaller than ever. Ryan looked like he was either about to run away screaming or have a panic attack, and Shane couldn’t stand the fact that he was the one to cause this reaction.

                “Ryan-” he began in a voice much deeper than normal, reaching an outstretched hand toward the smaller human before remembering the claws that now adorned his once human hands. Ryan flinched away from the aborted movement. Shane swiftly retracted his hand, trying desperately to hide them from Ryan’s fearful sight. At that moment, he wanted the earth beneath him to break apart and swallow him. Not even the pain of transforming could even begin to measure to the pain he was experiencing from the fear on Ryan’s face.

                He saw Ryan’s hand creep around to his back pocket, and heard the familiar crunch of the old bottle of holy water that he insisted upon carrying with him everywhere they went. He honestly wasn’t sure how much damage it would do to him, if any at all, but he wasn’t about to take any chances; he began to slowly back away to the other side of clearing, eyes on Ryan the whole time.

                “Ryan, please don’t.” he pleaded, his own fear evident in the shakiness of his voice.

                Ryan’s voice cut through the forest, cold and sharp, harsh on Shane’s ears.

                “What-” he began, taking a hesitant step forward from the safety of the tree.

                “-have-” he continued forward, taking a more confident step toward Shane.

                “-you-” Ryan advanced further and Shane found himself backed against a rock.

                “-done-” Shane shrunk back against the rock, trying to make himself as small as possible.

                “-with-” Ryan was now openly brandishing his little water bottle of holy water in his hand as he punctuated each word with a step closer to the demon.

                “-Shane!” Between the current situation and the mention of his name, Shane broke down. He curled up as close to the rock behind him as possible, and covered his face with his clawed hands as tears began to run down his face.

                “Ryan,” he quietly whimpered. “It’s me, I’m Shane, please-,” he hiccupped through his tears, “-please stop.” He saw Ryan pause as he looked at him through his claws. He saw so many emotions pass over Ryan’s face, from anger to confusion, confusion to realization, and finally, from realization to shock. The water bottle fell from his hand as he stood there, carefully considering the cowering demon.

                “Shane?” Ryan whispered while cautiously approaching him. All he could do was nod in return as he began to cry harder, the tears dripping from his face and his shoulders shaking with sobs as he thought about the fact that Ryan knew. Ryan now knew the horror that he was. He had no chance now, no redemption. He was the very thing Ryan feared most, and there wasn’t anything he could do about it.

                He started at a sudden gentle touch to his arm, barely stopping himself from jumping away from it. Shane peaked out between his claws to find Ryan right in front of him, hand still touching him, with a scared but concerned look on his face.

                “Can I see?” Ryan asked him quietly, voice trembling slightly. Shane slowly moved his hands away from his face, letting Ryan see him as he truly was. He kept his eyes downcast, not wanting to see Ryan’s face as he inspected him.

                The hand on his arm moved down to his own hand, picking it up from where it rested on the ground. He felt careful fingers inspect his sharp claws and the movement of the joints in his hand. It was soon returned to its place on the ground in favor of feeling along the horns that sprouted from his hair. He heard Ryan’s breath hitch and knew that he had started crying too. The hands moved down from the pair of horns and traced the plates that lined his spine, sometimes tapping against them as if to verify their realness. The touch continued down his back until about the halfway point, and was lifted for a brief moment.

                He then saw Ryan’s hands come within his vision, gently tipping his face so that Ryan could see it better. Shane shut his eyes tightly, tears still slowly leaking down his cheeks. He felt the gentle touch of Ryan’s fingers trace from his jawbone up across his cheekbones, wiping away the tears that had fallen earlier. His hands moved again, and held either side of his face. Shane shuddered in a breath, not sure what to do at this point.

                “Can you open your eyes, please?” He heard Ryan ask. He was hesitant to do so, but at this point, did he really have that much more to lose? He slowly opened his eyes again, finally looking at Ryan for the first time since this moment began.

                Shane was surprised as he searched Ryan’s face and eyes. He found no trace of the disgust he was sure to see, but he did find something that he didn’t want to name yet, in fear it would be too hopeful for the situation they were in. A smile slowly spread across Ryan’s face, and although it was tear soaked, it was the most beautiful thing Shane had seen.  


	2. Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now from Ryan's POV

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back by popular demand :)

                What. The. Fuck. What in the actual literal fuck was happening right now. Suddenly the boy he liked was a giant demon that was apparently afraid of him and his tiny little bottle of holy water??? His brain had honestly just given up at trying to process what was happening at this point, taking his logic and punting it out of the metaphorical window in the process. He dropped the bottle like it was on fire, suddenly realizing what he’d just done.

                “Shane?” he asked in a quiet whisper; the demon nodded back in response, his face hidden by two sets of wickedly sharp claws. Ryan noticed that he seemed to be crying, if the shaking shoulders and gasping breaths were anything to go by. Intending on comforting his now demonic best friend, Ryan began to move closer to him, regardless of all the warning bells going off in his brain telling him to run.

                As he got closer, he reached out a hand to Shane, barely touching his arm before he went completely stiff. Ryan saw the claws covering Shane’s face shift slightly, revealing an orange, glowing iris peeking out at him. Fear was still hidden in those eyes, so he made a decision that his brain would scream at him later for.

                “Can I see?” Oh god, what was he doing right now. Shane didn’t move at first, seemingly startled by the sudden question. Ryan had convinced himself that Shane wouldn’t agree to his request, and was about to start backpedaling, but Shane slowly let his claws drop to the forest floor, shifting his glowing eyes away as well.

                Taking it as permission, Ryan moved the hand that was touching Shane’s arm down to his hand, picking it up from where it lay lax on the ground. He brought it up to eye level, carefully inspecting the sharp, dark claws that now took the place of the long fingers he had grown fond of. He experimented with the movement of the joints in Shane’s hand, curious if they were the same as before now that claws adorned the other man’s hands. Satisfied with his findings, Ryan placed Shane’s hand back where it had been on the ground. He moved his hands up into Shane’s hair, feeling along the base of the almost black horns. Tears began to prick his eyes and his breathing became uneven as the reality of the situation hit him finally. Nevertheless, he continued his exploration of the newly demonic aspects of his friend, determined to comfort Shane even if he himself was breaking down a bit too.

                He followed the horns with shaky hands up to their vicious points, lingering there for a second. He wondered how long Shane had been like this, how long he had to keep this secret by himself. Coming back to himself, Ryan moved away from the horns and to the plates now covering Shane’s spine. He ran gentle fingers around their blunt edges, tapping a few out of curiosity. He couldn’t tell what made these plates up, but he could guess it was probably a similar material to the claws and horns. Ryan traced them down to around halfway down Shane’s back, any farther would’ve required him to be in an awkward position to reach. For the first time in this experience, he completely removed his hands from Shane’s being. He refocused his attention to Shane’s face, slowly moving his hands towards Shane’s jaw so as to let him have time to refuse the touch. When none came, he made full contact with his face, gently tipping it upwards so he could look at him properly.

                Shane’s eyes were now tightly shut, still leaking tears down across his cheeks. Ryan moved his left hand from Shane’s jaw up to his cheekbone, wiping away some of the tears from earlier. His right hand soon followed, and he was now gently holding either side of Shane’s face. He heard Shane shudder in a breath, sounding like he was on the edge of tears again.

                “Can you open your eyes, please?” Ryan asked quietly, wanting to see how the hazel eyes that he loved looked like in their glowing, orange hue. Distantly, he was also aware that his reason for asking was more so that he could find some familiarity in those eyes, so he could make sure that this was the same being as his Shane. The demon’s eyes slowly slid open, and looked directly at Ryan’s. He was enthralled to say the least, but also relieved because even behind the weird color and the pupil looking like a snake’s, it was still Shane. At that discovery, a smile began to break out on Ryan’s face.

                Without hesitation, he pressed a sudden kiss to Shane’s lips, much to the surprise of himself and the very confused demon in front of him. He quickly realized himself again, pulling back and removing his hands from Shane’s face. He backed away a step and looked at the ground sheepishly, trying to come up with some sort of excuse or apology, just something to fill the silence that followed his impromptu action. He fidgeted with his hands as the silence grew even longer; he was scared to look at Shane and see a less than favorable look on his face.

                He caught movement at the edge of his vision and looked up anyway. Shane was getting up from the ground, returning to his even more so towering height, a lack of emotion on his face. Ryan winced internally, he knew this would go horribly wrong, why did he think that was a good idea, why didn’t he sto-

                His thoughts were cut off by the gentle touch of a claw to his cheek. Even though he knew it was just Shane, a shot of terror still coursed through his veins at the sight of him looming over him, claws outstretched. Those claws were gentle though as they carefully cupped his face, making sure not to nick him accidentally in any way. Shane stooped closer down to his level, unnaturally orange eyes searching his face again for some time. Seemingly satisfied with what he had found, he slowly moved closer towards Ryan, both of them shutting their eyes as their noses barely brushed by each other. There was a brief moment of hesitation where they were both sharing the same air, trading breaths with each other.

                Shane had initiated the contact between their lips this time, except he didn’t stop at the first like Ryan had. They kissed passionately for a few minutes, almost like they were drowning in each other. Shane pulled away from him suddenly and took a few steps away from him, leaving him staring at the demon’s back and wondering what he did wrong.

                “Ryan,” Shane’s voice rumbled “I’d suggest you close your eyes for a minute or two. You’re not gonna want to watch this.”

                Ryan was even more confused by this, but he did as Shane requested anyway, trusting his judgement. He heard what he assumed was Shane hitting the ground as the sounds of bones snapping and popping filled the otherwise quiet forest. He wanted so badly to look, to see what was happening, but the gasps that Shane was letting out and the other unnerving sounds won out. He waited what seemed like forever, but the sounds finally stopped, leaving only Shane’s heavy breathing behind.

                “You can look now.” Shane’s voice sounded different – normal almost. As Ryan opened his eyes again, he found Shane – normal, human Shane – sitting in front of him, still catching his breath.  

                “Gimme a hand?” Shane asked, a tired smile on his face. Ryan grasped his hand and heaved him up to a standing position with some effort; it wasn’t easy to do with Shane being taller than him. Shane went to take a step back in the direction of where everyone else had been, but his knees buckled under his weight. Ryan caught him just in time and helped him get back to standing, this time helping Shane walk.

                As they slowly made their way back to the others, Ryan couldn’t help but wonder what would come of this now. He wasn’t the only one that had initiated contact, so there was something tangible there. A bright blossom of hope spread through Ryan’s chest, bringing a wide smile to his face. Shane noticed and shot him a smile back, showing much of the same emotion but with an extra dash of exhausted.

                When they got back to the other crew members, they all bombarded them with questions. With some improv, they had them convinced that Shane had suddenly gotten sick but sprained his ankle in the process, explaining why Ryan was helping him walk. The crew wanted them to go and head back first so that Shane could rest at home and told them that they would cover packing the equipment up and such.

                Ryan helped Shane hobble over to the passenger side of their car, supporting him as he slipped into the seat. He quickly made his way over to the driver’s side, jumping in and starting the car. As he drove off, he shot a look over at Shane, only to find him dead asleep against the window, snoring softly. A loving smile made its way across his face as he turned the radio on, music quietly filling the air of the car.   


_♪ If I could fly_

_Then I would know_

_What life looks like from up above and down below_

_I’d keep you safe_

_I’d keep you dry_

_Don’t be afraid Cecilia_

_I’m the satellite_

_And you’re the sky_ _♪_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so blown away by the amount of people who liked my demon!Shane, it's astounding. Thank you guys so much!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!
> 
> Thank you for reading my fic! I went a little bit out of my norm for this one, so I hope that y'all like it. It would mean a lot if you left a kudo or a comment (especially if you find any spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors)
> 
> My tumblr is skeptic-septic if you want to send me prompts :)
> 
> Cheers!  
> -Lee
> 
> (Also thank you guys so much for all the support for _Perfect_!)


End file.
